


For Old Times’ Sake

by Aithilin



Series: Nyx Ulric Appreciation Week 2020 [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Altissia, Gen, Mentions of past Libertus/Nyx, Playing tourist, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24875269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aithilin/pseuds/Aithilin
Summary: It’s not every day the Glaives get two days off in a foreign city to enjoy themselves.
Relationships: Libertus Ostium & Nyx Ulric
Series: Nyx Ulric Appreciation Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794022
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	For Old Times’ Sake

Altissia was everything the stories said it was. 

The waves and cries of the gulls replaced the constant sound of traffic and Insomnian life they had gotten used to. The morning rose over the green hills of Accordo’s natural protection for its most famous city, and the glow of the evening lights dimmed as the Celluna Cascades were set ablaze in the dawn. Ancient stone busts of Leviathan glittered more in the morning light as the previous evening’s rain was dried away. The steady stream of rainwater that had been drained away from the colourful painted walls of the Altissian houses by the Tidemother’s gaping maw had slowed to barely a trickle now as Nyx stepped out to the hotel’s little cafe seating. 

The fresh air carried the sea with it, the boats coming and going from the narrow and ornate city entrance nearly silent as they took advantage of the fair winds. Watching them out on the open waters of the bay reminded Nyx of home. Of Galahd. Of watching the fishing boats with Selena on his days off from the bar and playing their old games about guessing where the big ships were going. 

Here, there were fewer big ships. He had seen the port town along the coast as they had arrived, where shipping and commerce happened; where the bones of Accordo’s economy were set on the tides with fleets of smaller fishing vessels and large ships who paid no attention to the little ferry from Galdin as they were rocked in the wake. 

Here, in the city that benefited the most from all that activity, Nyx could only see small ships. Some boats out on the bay were moored out in the deeper waters, and others given piers if they could afford the fees. Merchants with boats overladen with fruits and meats not native to the island nation made their way across the bay, disappearing into the canals as he watched. 

He sipped at his coffee in the morning light and air, watching gulls fat on the gifts of tourists wander up and down the road before him, the wet flat feet slapping against the cobblestone in time with the waves lapping at the edge of the city. His initial sips had him recoiling at the bitterness of the foreign brew, but he had eased into his comfort with it; the warmth of its steam and the weight of the hotel mug in his hands almost as comforting as watching the sunrise over the water. 

“You just gonna sit there all day?”

His back had been to the hotel doors, where the morning’s traffic of tourists leaving on their adventure early mingled with those who were coming back to their soft beds after a night out. But he would know Libertus’ footsteps anywhere. The uneven, confident tread, the predictable trip over the tiny raise of the threshold where the hotel started and the plaza stones ended. 

“That’s the plan,” Nyx made a show of closing his eyes against the morning light and slouching in his iron seat. He stretched his legs out beneath the table, feet crossed at the ankles and bumping into the ornate iron of the table leg. “Coffee and sun. Nothing else.”

The knock to his shoulder nearly knocked him from his seat— the movement rattling the little jars of cream and sugar set out on the table by friendly staff— but Libertus was smiling as he dragged the second chair far enough to claim as his own. Nyx winced against the noise of the metal legs scraping the ancient cobblestone, but shared the smile as Libertus’ own coffee mug joined his. 

“We get two days free in this place and you want to waste it. No wonder the Prince asked you to come on this trip.” Sugar and cream had been laid out on each table some time before Nyx had even made his way downstairs, and after a testing sip of the bitter black brew, liberal amounts of both were stirred into Libertus’ coffee. “His Highness is probably going to sleep the whole visit away. Two peas in a pod, you are.”

“Hey, I’m awake and out here,” Nyx waved a hand to gesture to the morning activity— the boats and hopeful gulls now crowding around their end of the waterfront plaza— as if claiming a victory; “Crowe’s the one still sleeping. Did you even try to get her up?”

“When was the last time either of us was brave enough to poke that behemoth? No, just us this morning, Nyx. Like old times. Me an’ you.”

Like old times, when they had the whole world opened to them before the Nifs decided that their ornery little town was more trouble than it was worth. When they had mornings spent like this— watching the sunrise over the ocean from their bar’s little patio— before heading home to sleep the day away. When the morning light brought a promise with it, instead of the distant, dying screams of daemons dissolving in the sunlight they had both fought to see.

Like old times, when neither of them felt beholden to some king or revenge. When the two of them would slip away into the shadow of the mountains and come home days later with smiles and plans for the future. 

“Like old times,” Nyx agreed, closing his eyes at they peace of the waking world around him. “I guess you got some sort of plan for us?”

Nyx just lifted his mug out of the way as Libertus spread pamphlets and tourist maps out across the small table. The cream and sugar pushed dangerously close to the edge as it was used as a makeshift paperweight against the morning breeze. There were already circles and lines drawn, prices and budgets scribbled in the margins; page numbers in Libertus’ messy style were scribbled on the map, with a shorthand Nyx was far too used to seeing. He had two days’ worth of guided wandering planned out for them. Two days’ when the Prince would be sequestered with his retinue in the diplomatic estate, guarded by the local military rather than the famed Kingsglaive or more formal Crownsguard. 

Two days where Nyx was glad he didn’t need to stand in at meetings and the pageantry of Eos’ nobility. Where he needed to ignore the talk of things that would affect millions of lives across two countries, if nor more, and pretend he didn’t know what the headlines in the paper would be when they returned to Insomnia. 

They had two days to poke through the myriad of museums and temples, and try to see the faint glow of Solheim ruins beneath the calm waters of the Tidemother’s resting place. They had time and means to wander the high street where the wealth and artistry of Altissia was on full display; ateliers opened for viewing as master designers and artists displayed their talents to an adoring, marvelling public. Cafes and bakeries would give way to restaurants and bars as night loomed over the painted buildings and the soft lights that lined the streets flared to life again to bathe the city in a romantic glow. 

Nyx knew they would walk for hours rather than spend the money on a gondola and risk missing some detail or another. There were statues and plaques Libertus had marked out for interest on his maps; historical sites and the new marvels married together in the plazas beneath ornate arches and carved stone. There were temples and shrines, not all used to the steady flow of tourist traffic like the restaurants or bistros that seemed to already overwhelm the city regardless of the hour. 

“You got timed bathroom breaks in there, big guy?”

“Ha ha, funny.” Libertus turned the map to Nyx; “We only got two days for this, Nyx. That’s nothing in a city like Altissia.”

“Right. Sure. What’s first?”

Libertus’ smile could have rivalled the morning sun. This was the Libertus he remembered. This was his childhood friend, his best friend who had survived the worst things they could imagine with him. The kind neighbour who took he blame when they got caught stealing from orchards in their youth, who tagged along on his crazy adventures to explore the canyons shrouded in heavy forest. 

This was the Libertus of his first confused crush, and more confused first kiss. Who had laughed with him and fought for him. Who dragged him across Eos to join the only army that had a sliver of hope of avenging their families and home. 

“We’re starting at the museum down the way here.”

The city laid open to them for two days while their royal charge was protected by others. 

Just like old times.


End file.
